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Two types of bacteria were found in baby formula tested at the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, but toxicology tests haven’t been done.

A possible link between baby formula and necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) in premature babies could explain the deaths of nine babies recently at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Johannesburg, an expert has suggested.

But Stasha Jordan, director at SA Breastmilk Reserve, warned that while studies suggest a correlation between the use of formula in new-born babies and NEC – a medical condition – several factors had to be considered when such outbreaks occur.

After several infant deaths in hospitals around the country this year, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases couldn’t find the cause of the outbreak.

According to the institute, the presence of two types of bacteria were found in the baby formula they tested at the hospital. The testing revealed the presence of Bacillus and StreptococcusContinue reading…

Originally published by Faith Osier on The Conversation. There are over 200 million clinical cases each year and approximately half a million deaths.

There are different ways in which malaria can be controlled. Preventive measures include use of insecticides in bed nets or indoor spraying programmes. Medicines can also be used to prevent or treat malaria, but resistance often develops and drugs lose their effectiveness.

The World Health Organisation reported that progress in controlling malaria has stalled.

As an immunologist, I dream that one day we will have an effective vaccine that will help eliminate malaria. I think this is possible because for over a century, we have known that humans do become immune to malaria. In places where there is lots of malaria adults don’t succumb to the disease, but their young children do.

In experiments conducted over 50 years ago, researchers showed that blood could be taken from adults who had become immune and usedContinue reading…

The investigation at the Rahima Moosa Hospital followed after a necrotising enterocolitis outbreak at the hospital took the lives of nine infants from March to July 2018.

After the visit to Rahima Moosa Hospital , Buang Jones from the South African Human Rights Commission said in a press briefing:

“From what we’ve gleaned so far, the hospital has violated the right of access to health. [..] They’ve also violated Section 28 of the Constitution which says that’s the best interest of children are of paramount importance.”

The hospital, which assists in the delivery of the approximately 13,000 babies yearly, acknowledged the death of the infants in August, but the cause of the outbreak is still unknown. The outbreak was contained in August.

According to a tweet posted by Jacaranda News, the SAHRC’s investigation also revealed that the RahimContinue reading…

Spectramed Medical Scheme and Resolution Health Medical Scheme (Resolution Health) have merged to form Health Squared Medical Scheme, as from 1 January 2019.

Independent auditors confirmed that 93% of members voted for the merger, and the schemes have extensively engaged with the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) and, with their involvement, the merger process is now subject to final approval by the CMS and Competition Commission.

Health Squared will be administered by Agility Health, which is currently the managed care provider and administrator for both Spectramed and Resolution Health.

The launch of Health Squared forms part of an overall strategy to protect the interests of members while strengthening the service offering in the context of future developments in the South African healthcare landscape.

Would you like to advertise on this very popular website ??Just drop me an e-mail atContinue reading…

According to Kirstie Haslam, partner at DSC Attorneys, the proposed State Liability Amendment Bill which the government is seeking to pass, will have consequences for medical malpractice claimants, as it aims to both limit and structure the payment of damages where a patient has been a victim at a State hospital…

Haslam believes that the move from the lump sum system to the proposed periodic system is unworkable.

“The principle difficulty with the introduction of this Bill is that it is nothing more than a stop-gap interim solution pending possible greater legislative reform,” she explains. “As matters stand, the South African Law Reform Commission is undertaking an extensive investigation into what it terms “medico-legal claims” and in that context this Bill – which has a potentially massive impact on victims of medical malpractice perpetrated in State-run institutions, which would be mostly the poor – is premature.”

Insurance and finance group Discovery has published its integrated annual report for 2018, revealing what its top executives got paid for the year.

Group CEO, Adrian Gore, was rewarded with a total package of R19.8 million, including a R6.6 million basic salary, a bonus of R7.8 million, long-term incentives of R4.1 million and other benefits of R1 million and R313,000.

Gore’s incentives were largely based on the handling of Discovery Bank, which is set to launch as South Africa’s next big full service bank in the coming months. He also saw that the group hit its growth targets and ran a profitable business, Discovery said.

Group financial director, Deon Viljoen earned a R10.2 million total package, while CEO of Discovery Life Hylton Kallner was the highest-paid exec with a total package of R29.2 million.

Kallner’s huge payday was due to a R17.6 million LTI payout, which was as a result of the vesting of a three-year LTI scheme.

The Conradie Hospital was opened in 1938 and was, at one stage, one of the top treatment centres for Spinal Neurodegenerative Disease.

The City of Cape Town has prioritised the development of the old Conradie Hospital precinct which has lain dormant for more than 16 years.

The ‘Conradie Better Living Model’ is a redevelopment initiative undertaken by the Western Cape Government to provide affordable housing to locals. The dilapidated and disused area, which is 22 hectares in size, is due to be converted into an integrated, sustainable, and affordable residentially-led, mixed-use neighbourhood.

Conradie Hospital grounds get a new lease on life
The abandoned Conradie Hospital, which is nestled between Thornton and Pinelands, will be revitalised by the construction of 3602 houses‚ two schools and a commercial centre.

For the past 16 years, the derelict Conradie Hospital has been a thorn in the side of local government and nearby residenContinue reading…

The South African government has committed to upgrading and maintaining the ageing and dilapidated infrastructure at public healthcare facilities.

Speaking at the two-day Presidential Health Summit held in Boksburg, Deputy President David Mabuza said it was agreed that in the context of fiscal constraints, provinces will be expected to prioritise their financial resource allocations in a manner that ensures that the delivery of healthcare is not compromised.

“More importantly, this summit pointed out that we need to develop a sustainable financing model for our health system. We will commence with this task immediately.

“National Treasury will be seized with this task to ensure that this model is finalised within a short space of time.”

“We will seek to draw on this compact as we fast-track the licensing of all health facilities in readiness for implementation of the NHI. It has drawn together a remarkable cross section of South Africans – and manyContinue reading…

A mentally disturbed patient was found with burns after being locked alone in a ward in the Wentworth Hospital in Durban, said the IVP.

Ncamisile Nkwanyana, the IVP’s health spokeswoman in KwaZulu-Natal, said urgent action should be taken against medical staff who neglect mental-disturbed patients in health care institutions.

“The neglect of such patients is a serious concern. Misconduct, incompetence and negligence do not belong in our healthcare system and there must be drastic action against anyone convicted of it. ”

Nkwanyana believes the nurses concerned should be suspended and their actions are being investigated, and if found guilty, they must be fired because “a lack of empathy may not be tolerated in our healthcare system”.

She says the IFP is concerned about the absence of professionalism in health care institutions and observes a collapse of the professional healthcare sector, especially in public institutions.

Nursing malpractice has resulted in a significant rise in civil claims against private hospitals, according to a study by Professor Ethelwynn Stellenberg of the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS).

“The quality of care is declining in both the state and private sectors. The cost of clinical mistakes is just too high.” It is not only the increase in the number of claims that is troubling, but also the scale, with many amounting to pay outs of millions of rand. In the end these costs are passed on to the consumer,” she says.

Failure to follow guidelines and poor monitoring of patients are contributing factors in these malpractice cases. She finds it concerning that most of these cases are settled quietly, which means that important information does not reach the people who use private hospitals.

The study mainly focused on Gauteng and the Western Cape, where the biggest hospitalsContinue reading…

South Africa has a unique opportunity to become the global leader in the regulation of warranties for medical devices.

Throughout the world, legal cases against pharmaceutical companies that manufacture medical devices such as implants for treatment of specific conditions are on the increase, as patients are not always properly informed about how the device works, what its intended purpose is, and, most importantly, how long it will work effectively.

A major problem leading to the increasing law suits stems from a lack of information for patients on what to expect from a product and the patient’s own, sometimes unrealistic, expectations.

When it comes to consumer products – which are covered in South Africa by the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) – different remedies are available for consumers if they are unhappy with the product. For example, a consumer buys a product or pays for a service. The manufacturer guarantees that the product should work as intenContinue reading…

Government will reprioritise funds to make R350m available to recruit new health professionals, says Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.

The Minister tabled the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in the National Assembly on Wednesday.

“Access to healthcare services is enshrined in our Constitution and in our Bill of Rights. We will continue to work closely with the national Department of Health and other role players to ensure that the gradual phased implementation of the National Health Insurance is adequately financed.

“We are immediately reprioritising R350m to recruit in excess of 2,000 health professionals into public health facilities,” he said.

Mboweni said a further reprioritisation of funds will avail R150m to be used to purchase beds and linen for hospitals where the need is more dire.

These two interventions will build on the Presidential Health Summit convened last weekend, which has brought a new focus to improving the quality of healthcarContinue reading…

A report by organisations collaborating under the umbrella of the People’s Health Movement South Africa was submitted to the UN Committee on Cultural, Economic and Social Rights (ICESER), interrogating, among other things the flaws and pitfalls of the country’s National Health Insurance (NHI) proposal.

“The international human rights system does not have the teeth of a legal process but it is quite powerful if the committee recommends, for example, stronger oversight over mental health services, or greater resources. So, we are interested in what their recommendations will be based on their interrogation of the report,” one of the authors, Professor Leslie London from the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at UCT says.

NHI

About a third of the health movement’s report focused on the National Health Insurance (NHI) proposal. Areas of concern flagged include the absence of any reference to preventative health; capacity and resourcContinue reading…